Advanced
Chase flavor like a pro: processing, water, espresso.
Processing
- The washed process How the washed process works step by step, why it produces clean, bright, origin-transparent cups, and what it costs in water and labor.
- The natural (dry) process Drying the whole cherry on the seed builds heavy body and big berry sweetness, but it is the highest-risk process: how the sugars migrate, where funk comes from, and how good drying-bed care keeps it clean.
- Honey and pulped-natural processing How honey and pulped-natural processing leave mucilage on the bean to dry, how white, yellow, red, and black honey differ, and where they sit between washed and natural.
- Anaerobic and carbonic maceration Sealing coffee in oxygen-limited tanks reshapes fermentation toward boozy, funky, intense fruit. Where carbonic maceration came from, how the cup gets made, and why consistency is the real fight.
- How decaf is made The four main decaffeination methods, how each strips caffeine without ruining flavor, what they do to the cup, and why decaf is never truly caffeine-free.
Varietals & terroir
- Varietals: Typica, Bourbon, Gesha and beyond The major Arabica varieties explained: the Typica and Bourbon lineages, their descendants like Caturra and Catuai, the SL and Pacamara lines, Gesha, and disease-resistant hybrids.
- Terroir and altitude (SHB, SHG) Why higher and cooler growing ripens cherry slowly into denser, sweeter, more acidic beans, what SHB and SHG grading actually mean, and why altitude is printed on the bag.
Tasting & grading
- How to cup coffee (the SCA way) The standard SCA cupping protocol: ratio, grind, steep, breaking the crust, skimming, and slurping, plus the scoring categories and how to run a tidy cupping at home.
- The SCA flavor wheel, and how to use it What the Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel actually is, how it pairs with the WCR Sensory Lexicon, and how to move from vague 'nice' to defensible descriptors like blackberry.
- Scoring, the 80-point line and Q grading How the 100-point SCA scale works, why 80+ means specialty, what a Q grader actually certifies, and how a couple of points move the price of a coffee.
Extraction science
- Extraction theory: yield, TDS and the brewing chart Strength (TDS) and extraction yield are two different things. Here is how they relate, where the sweet spot sits, and how to read the SCA brewing chart.
- Refractometers and measuring extraction How a coffee refractometer measures TDS, how to turn that into extraction yield, and how to use the number to dial recipes objectively instead of by guesswork.
Espresso craft
- Dialing in espresso Dose, yield, ratio and shot time are your dials. Grind is the master lever. Here is how to dial in a new bag methodically, one variable at a time.
- Puck prep: WDT, distribution and tamping WDT breaks clumps, distribution evens the bed, a level tamp seals it. Good prep is the cheapest way to kill channeling and stabilize your shots.
- Channeling: causes and fixes Channeling is water punching a path through the puck instead of soaking it evenly. Here is what causes it, how it tastes, and how prep fixes it.
- Grinder alignment and RDT Aligned burrs grind more uniformly; RDT (a spritz of water on the beans) kills static, clumps and retention. Here is when each one actually matters.
- Pressure and flow profiling Shaping pressure or flow over a shot: gentle pre-infusion, ramps, declining profiles and what they actually fix. Plus how lever machines do it for free.